2 3 
°jg _ 6 J Knigiit, The Pine Grosbeak in Captivity. 
male was found dead in the cage. Notwithstanding this, the 
female continued preparing to lay, and the morning of June ro an 
egg was found in the bottom of the cage. June 1 1 a second and 
last egg of the set was laid. They were of a greenish blue color, 
spotted with black and lilac. The spots were thickest at the 
larger end where they tended to become confluent and form a 
wreath. The eggs measured i.oo x .68 and 1.02 x .64 inches 
respectively. 
The next winter, 1893-94, no Grosbeaks were observed in this 
vicinity, and so I was disappointed in getting a mate for my bird. 
The last of May, 1894, she showed signs of desiring to bui'd a 
nest. An old nest of the Loggerhead Shrike, was placed in a box 
in her cage, and she at once occupied herself in tearing it to 
pieces and attempting in a crude way to build a nest. On June 9, 
14, 17, 22, and 23 she deposited eggs which exhibit the following 
dimensions: .90 x .69, .94 x .70, .95 x .68, .90 X .65, and .90 
X .69. On completion of this set she desired to incubate, acting 
very much like a sitting hen. In July she again began to prepare 
a nest, and on July 17 and 18 she laid eggs which measure .81 x 
.64 and .86 x .62 in. 
January 17, 1895, a few Grosbeaks were observed feeding on 
some sumach berries in a small grove near Bangor. February 2 a 
flock of about twenty visited a crab-apple tree in a neighbor’s 
garden, and, although they were very wild, I finally managed to 
capture one which proved to be a young male. He was at once 
introduced to the captive female, but the two developed a strong 
antipathy to each other, and a fierce fight ensued, so that I was 
obliged to place them in separate cages. 
May 20 the female began to build a nest, and I again tried to 
mate the birds, but they at once began to attack each other, so I 
was obliged to give up all hopes of their mating. 
On May 28, 29, and June 5, 6, and 7 eggs were deposited which 
measure .92 x .69, .83 x .66, .93 X .71, .88 x .70, and .88 X .69 
in., and the female at once desired to incubate. June n the 
bird began to construct another nest, and on June 14, 15, 22, and 
24 she again laid. The eggs measure .99 x .70, .86 x .67, .95 x 
.70, and .64 x .57 in. The last egg laid was very small and con 
tained no yolk. The bird now ceased laying until July, when on 
